Plaiting-machine.



I. B. DALBEY.

PLAITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3, I915.

1,42,25 Patented 001:. 9,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- 1. B. DALBEY. PLAITING MACHINE. APPLICATION FlL ED AUG-3. I915- 3.,Q2,4f 2'5. v Patented Oct. 9,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- JOEL BEN'J. DALBE or NEVA A,

IOWA, ASSIGNOB or ONE-EAL]? T JAY A. xnvejor NEVADA, row-a. p

'PLAITING-MACHINE. Q

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented ()cf, -9,' 1917,

Application filed. August a, 1915. Serial No. 43,486!

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Joni) B. DALBY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Nevada, in the county of Story andState of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Plaiting h lachine, of which the following is a specification. V

The object of my invention is to provide a machine of comparatively simple, durable and inexpensive construction, for plaiting cloth for dresses and the like.

A further object is to provide a :mac hine having parts so constructed and arranged I p ,used the referencenumeral vto-ind cate and so adjustable as to be readily and easily adapted for makingplaits. of various sizes, shapes and kinds. v r a 1 Still a further object is to provide ina plaiting machine a device for supporting and feeding cloth to the plaiting mechanism, and adjustable'means for imposing proper tension upon said device.

Still a further ob ect is to provide such a machine having plaiting mechanism and having mechanism adapted to receive the plaited cloth and to hold it inits plaited position. v

My inventlon consists in the construction,

chine. I

arrangement and combination of the vari-' device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated'in the accompanying drawings, in which I Figure 1 shows atop or plan view ofua plaiting vmachine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 shows an end elevation of the maous partsv of the Fig. 3 shows an end elevation showing part of the plates installed for making accordion plaiting.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective View of one, of the base plates.

Fig. '5 shows a front elevation of the mechanism for receiving and holding the plaited goods.

Fig. 6 shows a 'vertical, sectional view,

" taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. v

Fig. 7 shows a top or plan view of part of the device shown in Fig. 5.

of the device shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 shows a frontelevation oft. part I Fig. 9, shows an end elevation of i the ma:

chine with the partsinstalled for making boxplaitingx. g Fig. 10 shows a vertical, sectional view,

1 taken on the line 10-1( of ,Fig. .9; g

Fig. 11 shows a'vertical, seotionalyiew, I taken on the line 11 11 of Fig. 10. f

Fig. 12 showsia detail view of .one end one of the brackets 19 and 20, and

, Fig. 13shows a vertical, sectionalview through a modified. fornijof one of the plaiting plates. 1 j

In the. accompanying drawings l' have generally atable .or supporting frame havprovided with a central, longitudinal slot 13.

Mounted on each endof the platform 12 is a pairof upright members 14;. {ll-he mam bers 11 of each pair are. parallellwith each other and equidistant -from-thefrespective I I ones of theother pairs of members 141. The members 14 are mounted on the platform l2 for lateral adjustment thereof by 'mean'sjof bolts 15 extended through laterally extending slots inthe platform 12, and through mg the legs 11 and having the platformlZ v laterally extendingfslots 116 in the laterally extending flanges 17 at'the lower ends of the members 1 1. On the ends of the bolts 15 are wing nuts 18..

, At the upper ends of themembers 14; at

each end of the machine are transverse brackets or bars 19 and 20. 'Each of the brackets 19 andQOhasat one end a down-' against the members 1 1 when "ldesired, by

means of'wing nuts 23.

At the opposite end of each bracket 19 and 20 is a longitudinally extending slot 24:

mounted on a similar bolt 22. capable of being gripped against the member 1 1 by a similar wing nut than the bracket 19, and has in its central lower portion a tongue or bearing member 25 extending laterally from the bracket 20. .The brackets 19. and ZOhaVeJin the c p 23. The bracket QOis pref erably somewhat wider from top to bottom tral parts of their upper edges notches 26 to receive a pin or shaft 27 supporting a roller 28. Extending around the pin or shaft 27 received in the notch 26 in the bracket 20 is a hook member 29 on which is formed a downwardly extending shank 30, screw-threaded at its lowercnd to receive a wing nut 23 similar to those already de scribed. The shank 30 is slidably extended through the member 25 and between the member 25 and the wing nut 23 is a coil spring 31. lt will be seen that by varying the position of the nut 23 on the shank 30 the tension on the spring 31 may be varied as may be desired for varying the tension on the roller 28 and determining the amount of force or weight of cloth necessary to rotate the roller 28 for feeding the cloth to the plaiting mechanism.

F or making accordion plaiting, the following parts are provided in addition to those already described. I use a plate 32 having at its side edges downwardly extending flanges 33 designed to rest on the platform 12 and to cover the slot 13; in order to make a platform slightly raised above the platform 12 adapted to cover the slot 13 regardless of the relative positions oft-he members '14 of each pair of'said members, which platform will lill the entire space between the members 1% at each end of the machine, I have provides a plate 34 having at one side edge a downwardly extending flange 35 adapted to rest on the platform 12.

In the practical use of my device, the plate 32 is placed on the machine with the flanges 33 resting uponthe upper surface of the platform 12 and with one flange 33 resting against one of the members l-clat each end of the machine. The member 3i is then placed on the machine with the flange resting on the platform 12 adja" cent to the other members 14 at each end of the machine, and with the body of the member 3-l resting on and overlapping the plate 32. The flanges 33 and are provided near their ends i th slots 36. The slots 36 near each end of the members 32 and 3t, register with each other.

In making accordion plaititig the members 32 and 3% are placed. in position as shown in Fig. 2. The cloth is then wound on the roller 28 with one edge hanging downwardly toward the platform 12. The plaiting plate 38 is laid upon the member 32 if that member alone is used, or upon the member 3% if both the plates 32 and 34- are used, with one edge resting against one member 1% ateach end of the machine. The downwardly hanging edge of the cloth 37 is then laid on the plate 38 which has been placed in position and another plate 38 s laid over the flat edge of the cloth 37, as shown in Fig. 3, with one edge of the second plate 38 resting against the other two memeas es bcrs 14. The plate 38 is then pushed against the cloth from tie side opposite the second plate 38 and dropped to position above and paraller with the first plate 33. The complete operation can be continued'by alternately inserting the plates .38 from opposite sides and always keeping said plates with one ed e against two of the members l t at opposite. ends of the machine until as much of the cloth as is desired has been plaited, or the capacity of the machine has been reached.

The plates 38 are preferably provided at one side edge with curled portions 39 adapted to rest one above the other on the alt rnate plates and to hold the plates spaced from each other their edges where they do not have between them the opposite plates 38 and the folds of the cloth, The plates 33 are thus held against tilting downwardly and outwardly from the center of the machine. V

V? hen it is desired to make ordinary accordion plaiting the members ofthe pairs of members 1%- at each end of the machine are placed equidistant from each other. lTih'en it is desired to make sunburst plaiting the members ll at one end of the machine are set closer together than the memhere 14 at the other end of the machine. it will be seen that when the members 38 are placed against the members 14 at each end of the machine, the resulting plaits' instead of being the same width at both ends, will be wider .at the end where the members 1% are set farther apart.

holding plaited cloth in position after the plates 38 have been assembled for plaiting the cloth, the following holdingdejvi'ce has been provided. 7 comprises a pair of upright members -10 having at their lower ends what I will call rearwardly extending horizontal flanges 41, pro vided with elongated slots 43 extending away from the inembers l O. The members l0 have at their upper ends what I will call forwardly extending flanges 4:2 having similar elongated slots Engaging devices are provided to 'coact with the upright memhers all), and comprise upright members it having at their upper ends horizontal ex tensions 45 adapted to engage the under surfaces of the portions and having at their lower ends horizontal extensions i6 adapted to rest below and engage the eiite'm sions a l. The extensions 45 and 16 are provided with elongated slots designed to be above and adjacent to the slots 43 and 43 The members 4-4. are provided with verticallv elongated slots 47. An angle bar 4-8 is mounted on the meinhers between said members and the incinbers 4:9,as shown in Fig, 6, for vertical adjustinent by means of bolts 49 and wing nuts 50.

In the practical use of: the holding'devi'ce ust described, after a certain amount of cloth hasbeen plaited by means of the plates so i second holding device is provided'foreach end of the machme, and m'each case com-N slots 36 are loosened and the anglebar 48 is lowered until it rests upon the upper plate 38 or upon, the cloth abovethe upperplate 38, and is pressed downwardly whereupon .thenuts 50rare tightened for holding the angle bar 48 .in positionnwhere the plaited clothis tightly held in plaited position, It may be incidentally :mentioned this connection that after the cloth hasbeen plaited and put into the holding device, .a-cloth wrung from very hot water is passed over the plaited edgesof the cloth'for dampening it. For plaiting box plaits and holding them,

a different form of holdingideviceis provided, which, for convenienceiin description, I will call the second holding device. One

prises a pair of parallel upright bars slidably mounted on bolts 56, on the ends of which are nuts 57 Secured to the outer surface of each bar 55 is an upright channel member 58. Mounted in one of the bars 55 is a bolt 59 having a head 60 adjacent tothe other bar 55 and having on its outer end a' wing nut 61. Mounted on the bolt 59 by means of an elongated slot is a bar or bracket 62 designed to stand in horizontalposition and to extend inwardly longitudinally of the machine, as shown in Fig. 10.

On the upper surface of t e inner end of the bar 62 is a notch 63 to receive a bolt 64 extended through an upright bar 65 which hangs downwardly adjacent to the bars 55 between the ends of the machine, as shown in said Fig. 10.

Cut in the edges of each bar 65 on each side thereof, is a plurality of notches. The parts 66 cut from the notches are bent outwardly and then upwardly to form supporting hooks or members. The parts 66 on one side of each bar 65 are staggered with relation to the notches on the other side of said bar.

In making box plaiting with the second holding device, the pair of members 55 at each end of the machine is placed between the members 14 with the members 55 slightly spaced from each other, and with the channel members 58 receiving the edges of the members The bars 65 are hung :clearly illustrated in Fig. plate 38 'is placed against" the cloth from the side opposite that on which the secondsimpliclty of my machine, and the in. position and ,the;pla-te 38".;hung on the lower hook 66 of each bar; 65 -.The. cloth is then hungoverithelowerqplate 38 Jand the. next. plate 38 is. placed against the cloth .and rested onthe lower, hook 66, on,the;op-

posite sides of the members 65, so that'the lower edge of the second late 38" overlaps the upper edge of the rst plate 88 as 11. The next plate 88 is-located,- -andis supportedon the second book 66fromthebottom of the bar 65 on one edge thereof, as illustrated in Fig.

11, with the third plate 38 overlapping thesecond plate 38", whereby is formed. a box plait; .The process may v the capacity of the machine 7 has; been reached! i By then screwing the nuts-57 .,fartl1er upon the bolts 56, the-members-55 may ,be brought tightly together for holding .allthe plates 38: in. position with the cloth gripped between them and the second holding "dobe continued until vice'may be removed from the machine;

(1n removingeitherthe first or the second 7 device from-"the. .machine the: nuts holding 'thejroller supporting bracket to the member 14 atone corner and holding the 'said member-14' to-theplatform, may be loosened and the-said member 14 at one corner may be .moved away from the center ofthe machine,

whereupon the holding means may be removed. e v

For making box plaits of different widths,

a bar 65 may be provided having the hooks- 66 arranged a-t different heights thereon.,-

In Fig. 13 I have shown a cross section of a plate 38, similar to the plate 38", except that the plate 38 has laterally and upwardly 9d litmaybe noted in this connection that extending hook members 67 The plates 38 may be used for making box plaitsby supporting one plate 88 on the hooks 66 of the bars 65, extending the cloth over the upper edge of said plate 38, then placing a plate 38 in position with its lower edge supported by the hooks 67 of the first plate, then extending the cloth over the lower edge of the second plate 38*, then placing a third plate 38 in position supported by hooks 66 w1th the lower edge of said third plate below the upper edge of the second plate and directly above the first plate, and then ex tending the cloth over the upper edge of the second plate and thence downwardly over the lower edge of the third plate and continuing the operation.

It will readily be seen that by various slight adjustments of the parts of my plaiting machine, a great variety of forms of plaits may be made, and that plaits of 7 different sizes and various forms may be easlly plaited. Attention is called to the small u'prights for permittiiigithe adjustment Of *price for Whieh it 5 can be made, which makes the machine valuableifo'r use in small repair and pressing establishments.

I ha ve hadfl'a machine of this type in. practical 0'pera'ti'on,' ancl :find that it takes from thirty minutes to an hour to completely lait *a skirt.

It will be understood that c'h'anges may be made in the arrangement and eonstruction of the parts of any improved plaiting machine, and it is my intention to cover by this application any such changes Which may he included within are reasonable scope of my claims. V

I claim "as my invention:

1. In a plaiting machine, a supporting platferin a pair of parallel uprights at eaeh 'end of said platform, part of said uprights being laterally adjustable, a bracktclevice 'inountecl 'at the u-p'p'enends 'of each pair of said u'gprights, and a cloth receiving and. 'suppertmg roller supported byfisai'cl brackets and adapted to rotate With relation thereto. 7 2. In a iplaiting maehine, a supporting platform, a pair of parallel uprights at rights being "laterally 'acljnstab'le, a bracket ige tageea *clevi'ce mounted "at 'the upperwends of each "pair of uprights for permitting the adjustnient of said uprights, t-a "cloth receiving and *siipporti-ng roller *supported by said brackets and -'adatptecl to rotate with relation. thereto, and ilneans for imposing-tension up'on said *roller. e

In a clevice of the class described, "a platform, a pair 03: parallel uprights at each rend thereof, 'n eans 01 supporting cloth above sa d platform, =0 plates adapted to be placed One above and a plurality the ether with their ends received "between the uprights at each "end "of the machine.

4. "In a ole-vice. 6f the class described, 'a 1 j :platforin, a. pair of parallel japrigh ts at part "of said upright members being latera'lly adiu'st'able upon the platform. I

*Des Moines, Iowa, July 20, 1915.

iIOiEL BENa. DALBEY.

Witnesses: v A. LSHERMAN,

' WILL FREEMAN.

Games 01 this patent may =be' obtained'for fiwie-cents each, 'by aclclressingthe *Cmniissiofier of Patents,

7 Wasliingtomfi. Q. 

